SNC-Lavalin forms special committee to consider options

The SNC Lavalin logo is pictured outside a company building in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, May 5, 2019. REUTERS/Dario Ayala

(Reuters) - Canadian engineering and construction firm SNC-Lavalin Group Inc said on Wednesday its board has formed a special committee to consider options to increase shareholder value.

The company is facing fraud and corruption charges related to allegations that former executives paid bribes to win contracts in Libya under Muammar Gaddafi’s regime. Shares of the company have fallen 40 percent so far this year.

The Globe and Mail reported on Tuesday that the company might spin out some of its businesses before a criminal case against the company ever gets to trial, a move that could include carving out British unit WS Atkins.

Company executives told institutional investors at a private luncheon last Friday the company’s “Plan B” was about generating more value for shareholders and certain businesses could be spun out, the report said, citing two people who attended the meeting.

No final decision has been reached, the company said in response to a Reuters request for comment.

Reporting by Debroop Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by James Emmanuel and Arun Koyyur